Ask Frank DaignaultFrank Daignault is recognized as an authority on surf fishing for striped bass. He is the author of six books and hundreds of magazine articles. Frank is a member of the Outdoor Writers of America and lectures throughout the Northeast.

It's just the way I'm wired. My father is the same way. I have nothing against those that hunt. Only aspect of hunting I disagree with is the guys that sit out there with high powered rifles and shoot say a Grizzly Bear form half mile away. You want to kill a predator like a bear, mountain lion etc....here is a pair of brass knuckles a bowie knife and a baseball bat. have at it.....You win then hang it on your wall. Otherwise leave them alone. Just my $.02

For a deer well into his adult life, a bullet may not be the worst way to go. Adirondack winters are brutal. Then there's coyotes. Live the "free-range" life and then die quickly. "Veal" on the other hand are raised in concentration camps.

An analogy: A friend of mine and I both doing medical air-transports were discussing helicopter crashes. Dave: "...beats cancer..."

It's just the way I'm wired. My father is the same way. I have nothing against those that hunt. Only aspect of hunting I disagree with is the guys that sit out there with high powered rifles and shoot say a Grizzly Bear form half mile away. You want to kill a predator like a bear, mountain lion etc....here is a pair of brass knuckles a bowie knife and a baseball bat. have at it.....You win then hang it on your wall. Otherwise leave them alone. Just my $.02

I've talked to hunter friends that enjoy the challenge of a long shot for deer and elk, are good shots, and usually drop the animal quickly.
There was one I saw on TV that I didn't understand. A guy shooting a giant Nile crocodile that was just lying there on the river bank. It was from a safe distance away (they don't chase too far anyway...). A head shot and the animal barely flinched. I don't remember what they did with the animal afterwards.

It's just the way I'm wired. My father is the same way. I have nothing against those that hunt. Only aspect of hunting I disagree with is the guys that sit out there with high powered rifles and shoot say a Grizzly Bear form half mile away. You want to kill a predator like a bear, mountain lion etc....here is a pair of brass knuckles a bowie knife and a baseball bat. have at it.....You win then hang it on your wall. Otherwise leave them alone. Just my $.02

Its not about being wired a certain way. Its cultural: you come from the city where there are no woods, there is no hunting in your family and you did not grow up with it going on in your household. You exhibit contempt for hunting because you can't relate to it. Socialogists call that ethno-centrism. People who don't play golf don't want to see golf courses built either. Society sees that all the time. In your case it is quite predictable.

I've talked to hunter friends that enjoy the challenge of a long shot for deer and elk, are good shots, and usually drop the animal quickly.
There was one I saw on TV that I didn't understand. A guy shooting a giant Nile crocodile that was just lying there on the river bank. It was from a safe distance away (they don't chase too far anyway...). A head shot and the animal barely flinched. I don't remember what they did with the animal afterwards.

Shot small game when I was a kid... the farmer we rented a cabin on wanted ground hogs removed. Lot of fun doing that with a 30-03 and a scope, along with with trap shooting etc.

Loved seeing the deer head mount on the wall of the cabin or other cabins we'd visit and enjoyed venison that my mom made for us (even rabbit "by accident" one time).

I agree, there is a cultural aspect to it, know folks in more rural parts of the country where hunting is as embedded in their culture and family as any other aspect of life.

Still, there is a growth or maturity that comes over time. I don't want to shoot crows just for the sake of target practice any longer (my comments about not having guns etc in a previous post aside). I can see hunting, but not just killing. We are at the stage where there should be some thought to harvesting wild life, regardless of whether it's hunting or fishing, and not just removing everything we can, just because we can.

Its not about being wired a certain way. Its cultural: you come from the city where there are no woods, there is no hunting in your family and you did not grow up with it going on in your household. You exhibit contempt for hunting because you can't relate to it. Socialogists call that ethno-centrism. People who don't play golf don't want to see golf courses built either. Society sees that all the time. In your case it is quite predictable.

I'm from Northern NJ. Went to college in North Carolina, lived
In Boston three years, back
To New Jersey for a
Decade, moved to Southern California in 2008. I've been to every state in the United States and a handful of countries overseas. Have visited countries in Asia, the Middle East, Mexico,Canada
Etc. I've been around and have many friends that hunt. My father was an Army Ranger. He just happens to have no desire
To kill deer
Etc. The kind of
Guy that would pull over to help a dying squirrel. It's not a bad trait.

Most people who don't hunt never had any exposure culturally and we can't fault them for that. Like I never played tennis. Again, I was brought up with hunting and fishing. I was deep in high school before I realized that not everyone fished and hunted. To me it was natural to go fishing in spring and hunting in fall; I thought everyone did that.

I don't hunt but invite friends and neighbors to harvest deer from our farm if they wish. I carry a sidearm in the yard because we have bear that are too "friendly" around humans and, if need be, I would not have a problem taking one. I have many friends who enjoy hunting as much or more than I enjoy fishing and I have a great deal of respect for their sport. I think they are responsible and I know that they like to eat what they kill and make clean kills. I enjoy seeing game in the field (my yard) but think it looks better doing it's thing rather than on the ground with it's tongue hanging out .....but thankfully there are enough hunters in my neighborhood to prevent the over population that we saw before leaving SE Pa. I haven't seen recent stats but a few years back 30K deer were killed by vehicles in Pennsylvania. That's a helluva lot of body work!

What about so called invasive species? The list is long and complex on which one is a wild, land animal but I will start with wild pigs (hogs). Are they fare game kills? Maybe the snakes invading Florida or Gators and of course coyotes which live in our neighborhood?

None of those you mention are invasive species. All are indigenous. What has happened is that the populations of these animals has increased. The only native species that have increased with help are wild turkeys. Feral hogs are getting a lot of attention from hunters. They are good eating, suitable hunting fare, and many areas their numbers are huge. Officials say there are too many feral hogs.

Hunting has lost 3 million hunters in the last five years. There are a number of social influences that have caused this to happen -- anti-gun sentiments, political affiliation where gun ownership is somehow connected to party loyalty. Women have been taught by their mothers that hunters beat their wives, though that has subsided somewhat. The average age of hunters is quite old and there are no new hunters coming along. Young hunters and women are needed to fill that gap. The loss of hunters is creating a loss of Pittman-Robinson funds, which is an excise tax collected on hunting gear then redistributed to states based upon hunting license sales. Those funds are used to purchase wild lands which are utilized recreationally by groups other than hunting -- hikers, fishermen, campers, snowmobilers, horseback riders -- all who pay nothing for access to hunter purchased wildlands. Then there are the people who want us to hunt with a sharp stick ??. another story.

It is a huge advantage to have been born in a hunting family. A person does not have to overcome any cultural barriers when he/she has seen it since birth. However, sometimes a man marries a woman who has had no hunting exposure and it becomes a source of conflict. Inasmuch as half of all marraiges fail, no doubt hunting has a role in the cultural collision.